Groundwater recharge sources in semiarid irrigated mountain fronts

Houssne Bouimouass; Younes Fakir; Sarah Tweed; Marc Leblanc

doi:10.1002/hyp.13685

journal article Jan 17, 2020

Groundwater recharge sources in semiarid irrigated mountain fronts

Houssne Bouimouass Younes Fakir

Sarah Tweed Marc Leblanc

Hydrological Processes Vol. 34 No. 7 pp. 1598-1615 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1002/hyp.13685

Abstract

AbstractHigh‐elevation mountains often constitute for basins important groundwater recharge sources through mountain‐front recharge processes. These processes include streamflow losses and subsurface inflow from the mountain block. However, another key recharge process is from irrigation practices, where mountain streamflow is distributed across the irrigated piedmont. In this study, coupled groundwater fluctuation measurements and environmental tracers (18O, 2H, and major ions) were used to identify and compare the natural mountain‐front recharge to the anthropogenically induced irrigation recharge. Within the High Atlas mountain front of the Ourika Basin, Central Morocco, the groundwater fluctuation mapping from the dry to wet season showed that recharge beneath the irrigated area was higher than the recharge along the streambed. Irrigation practices in the region divert more than 65% of the stream water, thereby reducing the potential for in‐stream groundwater recharge. In addition, the irrigation areas close to the mountain front had greater water table increases (up to 3.5 m) compared with the downstream irrigation areas (<1 m increase). Upstream crops have priority to irrigation with stream water over downstream areas. The latter are only irrigated via stream water during large flood events and are otherwise supplemented by groundwater resources. These changes in water resources used for irrigation practices between upstream and downstream areas are reflected in the spatiotemporal evolution of the stable isotopes of groundwater. In the upstream irrigation area, the groundwater stable isotope values (δ18O: −8.4‰ to −7.4‰) reflect recharge by the diverted stream water. In the downstream irrigation area, the groundwater isotope values are lower (δ18O: −8.1‰ to −8.4‰) due to recharge via the flood water. In the nonirrigation area, the groundwater has the highest stable isotope values (δ18O: −6.8‰ to −4.8‰). This might be due to recharge via subsurface inflow from the mountain block to the mountain front and/or recharge via local low altitude rainfall. These findings highlight that irrigation practices can result in the dominant mountain‐front recharge process for groundwater.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

69

[1]

10.1038/ngeo1617

[2]

10.1002/hyp.7950

[3]

10.1002/hyp.6640

[4]

10.1007/s10040-017-1702-1

[5]

10.1029/2012wr012009

[6]

10.1071/ar03192

[7]

10.1029/2007wr006380

[8]

10.1111/j.1745-6584.2006.00289.x

[9]

Boudhar A. "Energy fluxes and melt rate of a seasonal snow cover in the Moroccan high atlas" Hydrological Sciences Journal (2016)

[10]

10.1623/hysj.54.6.1094

[11]

10.1007/s12665-014-3844-y

[12]

Using hydraulic head, chloride and electrical conductivity data to distinguish between mountain-front and mountain-block recharge to basin aquifers

Etienne Bresciani, Roger H. Cranswick, Eddie W. Banks et al.

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 10.5194/hess-22-1629-2018

[13]

10.3184/095422910x12829228276711

[14]

10.1111/j.1745-6584.2008.00443.x

[15]

Clark I. D. (1997)

[16]

10.1016/j.envsci.2017.11.010

[17]

Isotopic Variations in Meteoric Waters

Harmon Craig

Science 10.1126/science.133.3465.1702

[18]

10.2136/vzj2008.0134

[19]

10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.07.002

[20]

Fakir Y. "Multi‐modeling assessment of recent changes in groundwater resource: Application to the semi‐arid Haouz plain (Central Morocco)" EGU General Assembly (2015)

[21]

10.5194/hess-19-293-2015

[22]

10.3390/su4112998

[23]

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.02.016

[24]

10.1126/science.1089967

[25]

10.1002/hyp.10495

[26]

10.1111/1755-6724.12738

[27]

10.1051/lhb/2018032

[28]

10.1007/s10040-008-0359-1

[29]

10.1016/j.apgeochem.2018.01.003

[30]

Water movement through a thick unsaturated zone underlying an intermittent stream in the western Mojave Desert, southern California, USA

J.A Izbicki, J Radyk, R.L Michel

Journal of Hydrology 10.1016/s0022-1694(00)00331-0

[31]

10.5194/hess-10-873-2006

[32]

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.01.016

[33]

10.1029/2005wr004792

[34]

Kenney D. S.(2005). Prior appropriation and water rights reform in the western United States. Lessons for institutional design 167. 10.2499/0896297497.ch7

[35]

Kruse E. G. (1990)

[36]

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2003.10.013

[37]

10.1257/aer.101.1.64

[38]

Liu F. (2015)

[39]

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.06.053

[40]

An integrated environmental tracer approach to characterizing groundwater circulation in a mountain block

Andrew H. Manning, D. Kip Solomon

Water Resources Research 10.1029/2005wr004178

[41]

10.1016/j.rse.2015.01.002

[42]

Mountain‐Block Recharge: A Review of Current Understanding

Katherine H. Markovich, Andrew H. Manning, Laura E. Condon et al.

Water Resources Research 10.1029/2019wr025676

[43]

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.09.029

[44]

10.1016/j.agwat.2018.12.032

[45]

10.1029/2007wr006626

[46]

10.1029/2004wr003677

[47]

10.2136/vzj2008.0059

[48]

10.1061/(asce)he.1943-5584.0000718

[49]

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.05.023

[50]

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.427

Showing 50 of 69 references

Cited By

51

Groundwater storage depletion and contamination trade-offs under contrasting irrigation practices in drought-stressed Morocco

H. Bouimouass, S. Tweed · 2026

Journal of Hydrology: Regional Stud...

Linking groundwater recharge dynamics to traditional irrigation practices in a semiarid mountain-front system

H. Bouimouass, Y. Ouassanouan · 2025

Agricultural Water Management

Assessment of groundwater drought risk in arid regions using standardized indices and reliability analysis

Soumia Gouahi, Mohammed Hssaisoune · 2025

Frontiers in Water

The importance of mountain-block recharge in semiarid basins: An insight from the High-Atlas, Morocco

Houssne Bouimouass, Sarah Tweed · 2024

Journal of Hydrology

Dynamics of groundwater recharge near a semi-arid Mediterranean intermittent stream under wet and normal climate conditions

Youssef Hajhouji, Younes Fakir · 2022

Journal of Arid Land

Traditional irrigation practices sustain groundwater quality in a semiarid piedmont

H. Bouimouass, Y. Fakir · 2022

CATENA

Multi-decadal analysis of water resources and agricultural change in a Mediterranean semiarid irrigated piedmont under water scarcity and human interaction

Youness Ouassanouan, Younes Fakir · 2022

Science of The Total Environment

Seasonality in Intermittent Streamflow Losses Beneath a Semiarid Mediterranean Wadi

Younes Fakir, Houssne Bouimouass · 2021

Water Resources Research

Metrics

51

Citations

69

References

Details

Published: Jan 17, 2020
Vol/Issue: 34(7)
Pages: 1598-1615
License: View

Authors

H

Houssne Bouimouass

Faculty of Sciences Semlalia Cadi Ayyad University Marrakech Morocco

Y

Younes Fakir

Faculty of Sciences Semlalia Cadi Ayyad University Marrakech Morocco; CRSA (Center for Remote Sensing Application) Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique Benguerir Morocco

S

Sarah Tweed

UMR G‐eau, IRD Montpellier France

M

Marc Leblanc

Hydrogeology Laboratory, UMR EMMAH University of Avignon Avignon France

Cite This Article

Houssne Bouimouass, Younes Fakir, Sarah Tweed, et al. (2020). Groundwater recharge sources in semiarid irrigated mountain fronts. Hydrological Processes, 34(7), 1598-1615. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13685

Groundwater recharge sources in semiarid irrigated mountain fronts

You May Also Like